Why February 5th Matters In Rock History

It’s February 5th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

- In 1971, Black Sabbath started recording what would be their third album, Master of Reality. For the record, guitarist Tony Iommi decided to tune down his instrument three semi-tones. Bassist Geezer Butler did the same, leading to the darker sound that would go on to influence many other groups.

- In 1983, Toto went to No. 1 on the singles chart with “Africa.”

- In 1983, Def Leppard’s album Pyromania began a 92-week run on the charts. While it never reached No. 1, it wound up selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone.

- In 2006, The Rolling Stones played three songs during the halftime show of Super Bowl XL.

- And in 1948, “Nigel Tufnel” was born. The fictional lead guitarist of Spinal Tap was portrayed by Christopher Guest in the 1984 mockumentary of the same name. “Nigel” was born in Squantey, East London where he met his neighbour and future bandmate, “David St. Hubbins.”